How can HR practitioners complement search algorithms in recruitment of high potentials?

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-09-2016-0086
Pages150-152
Date12 June 2017
Published date12 June 2017
AuthorJan Posthumus,Joseph C. Santora,Gil Bozer
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour
How can HR practitioners complement
search algorithms in recruitment of high
potentials?
Jan Posthumus, Joseph C. Santora and Gil Bozer
Jan Posthumus is based at the
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative
State University, Loerrach,
Germany. Joseph C. Santora is
based at the Ecole des Ponts
Business School, Paris, France.
Gil Bozer is based at the Sapir
Academic College, Shderot, Israel.
In the past decade, we have
witnessed the increased
application of search
algorithms in the human resources
(HR) recruiting process. In fact,
this data-driven technology has
become somewhat of a permanent
fixture in the HR recruitment
practitioners’ toolbox for identifying
and selecting high-potential
employees. As a result, an
important HR question has
emerged in recent years about the
role of HR practitioners: Will the
use of sophisticated data-driven
technology potentially replace HR
practitioners by using a predefined
set of criteria to identify, prescreen
and select high-potential
candidates who fit the profile of a
company?
In simple terms, search algorithms
are a set of computer-generated
instructions that use selected
variables to build a profile of a
prospective high-potential
candidate. These variables include
the language the potential
candidate uses to describe
technology, work projects,
websites consulted and even
self-reported skills listed on social
networking sites such as LinkedIn
(Rothbard, 2013). In fact, using
algorithms has the potential to shift
the recruitment emphasis from
markers such as academic titles or
social traits that reflect the types of
attributes a company seeks in its new
hires. Gild and Sutro are two search
algorithms that were built, in part, to
reduce some of the tedious tasks HR
practitioners often encounter in the
recruitment process. Companies such
as SAP (2015) and Google (Hafen,
2016) have developed automated
search algorithms. SAP (2015) has
incorporated recruitment algorithms,
developed in conjunction with
interviews with HR practitioners, as
part of its college recruitment
process. For Rothbard (2013, p. 1),
“discovering the algorithm to reflect
the desired attributes of the company”
will be very meaningful for the
automated search algorithms
technique.
However, the use of search
algorithms in the HR recruitment
process has some operational
glitches. Clarity and transparency
of the selection process are two
major issues. These issues
become a serious obstacle, as
research indicates that HR
practitioners often use different
criteria from what they verbalize
(Posthumus et al., 2016).
Accordingly, the correct and clear
application of criteria in search
algorithms is imperative if they are
to replace HR professionals in the
identification and selection of
future employees and to manage
How to...
PAGE 150 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW VOL. 16 NO. 3 2017, pp. 150-152, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/SHR-09-2016-0086

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